Chapter 4 Rumors

  The wet nurse walked quickly to the door and looked outside, confirming again that there was no one outside, then opened the window and took a few glances outside before returning to say to Chun Cao: "Don't talk nonsense, Ze Ge is just a child of five years old, what does he know? Maybe Hong Ge had been ill for some time, and Ze Ge happened to see him when he entered the room, that's why he was scared."

  "Spring grass whispered: 'If so, why didn't he tell anyone? Even Hong's wet nurse... I saw her entering the house after Ze left. When Old Lady and I left the yard, I also saw her running to Big Nanny's sister with a pale face, whispering something... The news of Hong's death just broke out, and I followed Old Lady back from there, it's almost been an hour!'"

  The wet nurse also became afraid, and the two of them exchanged a glance, both trembling with fear at the possible truth that might be hidden here.

  Zhao Yingjun listened to the whole conversation and naturally thought about it. Although she didn't know what relationship the "brother" they were discussing had with her body, after all, they were all children of the Zhao family. A five-year-old child entered another child's room, chased everyone else out, and was left alone with the other child. Not long after, he ran out with a frightened face, without telling anyone why. The wet nurse followed him into the room, also pale-faced, and secretly spoke to the mistress's senior maid. Soon after, the child was found dead, and no one "knew" about it until the imperial physician came to diagnose - Spring Grass suspected that the five-year-old child was related to this matter, which is still logical.

  The key to the problem is when did that child die? What was the cause of death? His biological mother seemed not to have been with him all the time, but instead entwined with the first wife asking for a doctor to come and diagnose, from which it can be seen that he should have been ill, but not seriously ill, so how could he have died suddenly?

  If he had died after that five-year-old boy Zhe Ge Er left, why did Zhe Ge Er and the wet nurse look like they were frightened?

  If he had died before Zhege'er entered the house, and Zhege'er was frightened by his death, then why didn't the wet nurse who was always guarding the house discover it?

  Zhaoyin Jun was still thinking hard, the wet nurse had sighed out loud, sighing for the dead child's wet nurse. Although their masters were not on good terms, they still had a good private relationship. In the past, before she got married, they also worked together as maidservants in the same place. She said: "How did she become so unlucky? No matter what the truth is, she is already dead. I just hope the mistress will show mercy and not implicate her family members. Her child is not even half a year old yet."

  Zhao Yinyin was reminded that the wet nurse of the dead child could hardly escape responsibility. If the child had died before Zhe Ge'er entered the house, she would be guilty of dereliction of duty; if the child had been killed by Zhe Ge'er, and she had let him in and then left, she would also be unable to escape responsibility; even if the child had simply died of illness, she would still not come out well.

  "Spring grass and that wet nurse didn't have much of a relationship, and at this moment she wasn't in the mood to sympathize with others. What she was more worried about was the matter itself: 'Good sister, do you think I should tell Old Madam about this? Just now Old Madam was also in that courtyard, I'm afraid they'll play tricks and put the blame on Old Madam's head.'"

  The wet nurse thought about it and felt that this was indeed possible, but she had different opinions on whether to tell Zhang Shi: "It's not necessary, the old lady didn't get close to Hong Ge'er, and there's no need to harm her illegitimate grandson. They can't frame him even if they want to, but with the old lady's temperament, if she finds out about this matter, she will definitely speak out. Killing a brother is not a small crime, and even though Ze Ge'er is still young and doesn't understand things, he will still be punished. When the time comes, Big Madam will know that it was you who reported!"

  "Good heavens! What's to be done? Ze Ge is the daughter of the old mistress, and when the time comes, she'll tear me apart!"

  The wet nurse thought for a moment: "Let's take a look first, if they frame the old lady, you tell her the truth and ask her to make a decision. If they don't frame her, then pretend you didn't know about this matter. I heard that the old lady and the second master are planning to separate from the family, you must be following them when the time comes, at that time you will no longer be a person in this mansion, it's not too late to tell the old lady then."

  Spring grass hesitated for a moment, then agreed. She also said: "Anyway, Hong Ge is already dead, and he was born out of wedlock. Even if I expose the truth, Master Hou and his wife won't make Ze Ge pay with his life. Ze Ge is the eldest son and grandson, very noble! If outsiders find out what he did, even though he's young and doesn't understand things, his future will be ruined, and Master Hou will lose face too. I think that even if they know about it, they'll help Ze Ge cover it up. Why should I ruin myself for something that can't be changed?"

  It seemed that everything had been settled, and the two of them agreed not to tell a third person. After making an oath to each other, they looked up to see Zhao Yingjun sitting on the kang, staring at them with wide eyes, which gave them both a fright.

  Chūn cǎo jǐn zhāng de zhuā zhù rǔ mǔ de shǒu: "Sǎo zi, dà jiě ér huì bù néng tīng jiàn le?"

  Translation:

  Spring grass tightly grasped the wet nurse's hand: "Sister-in-law, will big sister hear it?"

  The wet nurse quickly calmed down and comfortingly patted her hand: "It's okay, how old is she? Even if she heard it, she wouldn't understand."

  They have no idea that this big sister has already changed her mind and can't be any clearer. Zhao Yujun couldn't help but scold in her heart, what are these two sisters thinking? Chuncao went to the other courtyard, bumped into Zeyu, it's not a secret, at least Zeyu and the wet nurse of the deceased child know about it, if Zeyu really killed his brother, as half an eyewitness, why didn't she tell the truth to the master's family earlier? Is she afraid that they won't come to silence her? Even a modern person who crossed over knows that this kind of secret can't be spread, why can't these two locals think of it?

  Unfortunately, Zhao Yingjun is now a one-year-old baby who can't speak yet, at most just calling out "dad" and "mom", there's no way to reason with these two locals, just hoping they won't be too brutal, coming in the dead of night to silence them, implicating her small self.

  What Zhao Yingjun was worried about did not happen. The shock caused by Zhao Hong's death soon subsided, he was just a month-old baby, and it was extremely common for children to die young in this era. Only his birth mother, Xiao Qian, cried and scolded several times, implying that she was blaming Jiang Shi, the child was raised in her courtyard, and the wet nurse was also someone she had arranged, so naturally it was her responsibility when the child died. Jiang Shi very calmly acknowledged her negligence in front of her parents-in-law, but also defended herself a little, although the child was raised in her courtyard, he was actually living in Xiao Qian's house, and all his daily life, food and drink were taken care of by Xiao Qian personally, even the wet nurse was someone Xiao Qian had agreed to before being sent over. As the legitimate mother, she might be suspected of negligence, but she did not dare to take on the crime of intentionally killing her stepson.

  Jiang had a legitimate eldest son, Zhao Ze, and her natal family was also powerful. Although Qian had another son and daughter, their status was far inferior to hers. Although Old Lady Qian was somewhat dissatisfied, after Jianan Hou spoke up, she could no longer make trouble. Jiang was only lightly reprimanded a few times and did not even have her authority to assist with household management taken away. However, in order to show fairness and her indignation at the death of the concubine's son, she ordered that the wet nurse who had been locked up in the backyard for dereliction of duty be beaten to death, and also had her entire family expelled from the estate.

  Xiao Qian's wife was not angry that the first wife had not been severely punished, but she also had no choice. She still had other children and had to think of them. All she could do was cry and bury her young son, sending him to the ancestral temple outside the city, where his coffin was placed alongside that of Duke Gong's.

  The child died before he was a month old, and according to the rules, even the family cemetery was not allowed to enter. Xiao Qian Shi started thinking of ways to persuade Lao Yi Nai Nai to go with Jian Nan Hou to open her mouth, so that the child would have a decent burial place.

  Things had not yet been accomplished, and Zhao Ze also fell ill. He developed a high fever and spoke nonsense. His birth mother, Jiang Shi, was worried that this illness was the same as the one he had contracted from his younger brother earlier. She ordered people to seal off her own courtyard, had her husband take Xia Qian and the children of concubines move to another courtyard to rest, sent her eldest daughter to her mother-in-law's house, and she herself stayed by her son's bedside with the maidservants, not allowing anyone else to approach. After two days of careful nursing, the child's condition began to improve.

  The Hou Mansion started to spread rumors that the Duke's grandfather couldn't bear to part with his grandsons and great-grandsons, so he wanted to take one of them as a companion. At first, he set his sights on the eldest daughter of the second branch of the family, then it was the eldest son of the third branch, and now even Zheye has been affected. Fortunately, the Duke's grandfather pitied his children and grandchildren, so in the end, he only took Hongge with him. This young great-grandson was born after the old man passed away, and he had never seen him before, so he was particularly fond of him. As for Zheye, he still had to stay behind to take over the family business, so the Duke's grandfather couldn't bear to part with him.

  This rumor quickly spread throughout the Hou Mansion, and within two days, even other royal families in the capital knew about it. Even the emperor himself asked a few questions. No one dared to say that Hong Ge's death was suspicious anymore, but instead thought he had died normally and with dignity, because he had received the honor of being taken away by the late Duke Gong - if not for his favorite young son, how would the old man have chosen only him among all his children? Xia Qian Shi was refuted every time she raised an objection, even Zhao and Old Lady Qian did not stand on her side, so she had to shut up.

  It's just a rumor that has been circulating, and it has changed in tone. Some people are saying that the county master only has one wet nurse by his side, which is a bit too lonely. Although children can bring joy to his knees, there is no one to serve the old man. Shouldn't the county master take away another person who can serve him wholeheartedly?

  Zhang was naturally dismissive of such rumors, not because she didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but because she knew that County Duke Zhao Zhu was a truly kind-hearted person who would never cut off the lives of his children just to have someone accompany him. Zhao Hong's death was simply due to childhood illness, and the other children's illnesses were also due to natural causes. The so-called rumors were purely fabricated nonsense.

  Mrs. Qian's mother-in-law didn't think much of it, but she started to be afraid at night and couldn't sleep well, being absent-minded all day long, and secretly found monks and nuns to ask about the method of driving out ghosts. When Zhao Jiong, the Duke of Southern Yan, got the news, he almost lost his temper. If this kind of thing spreads out, wouldn't it be a loss of face for him? Why can't his birth mother just be as easy-going as his stepmother?!

  But Niu Shi didn't think so, she always felt that this matter was strange: "How did this rumor spread in the mansion? It's only been two days and it's already known outside, obviously targeting Old Lady Niangniang, could it be Old Lady's cunning plan?"

  "With her temperament, how could she do such a thing?" Zhao Jiong disapproved, "The old lady's usual behavior is shameful, and it's not just this one incident. If she were smarter, she wouldn't have caused such a big stir!"

  Niu's gaze swept over him, and he straightened his back: "In any case, the matter of dividing the family property can't be delayed any further. Eldest Aunt's family left Beijing yesterday, let's settle things tomorrow!"